Finnish design studio Yatofu collaborated with young and local craftspeople to create El Fant Café and Bar in Helsinki, Finland.
The cafe and bar comprises three front of house spaces across 70 square metres, including a central bar with two adjoining dining spaces either side.
El Fant Café and Bar features furniture by Helsinki-based workshop Puutamo
Yatofu intended to inject the energy of Helsinki's contemporary design community into Torikorttelit, in Helsinki's old town, where El Fant is located.
"Our approach was rooted in celebrating the timeless qualities of Finnish design while infusing it with a contemporary twist," Yatofu's founders Angela Lindahl and Yihan Xiang told Dezeen.
Paja&Bureau created curved galvanised steel shelving for this project Guests enter into the central bar area featuring a custom galvanised steel bar designed by Yatofu in collaboration with local custom metal workshop Paja&Bureau.
They designed the bar counter and matching shelving units to "add a touch of industrial modernity to the space". The steel units bend and curve optimising the flow of the three connected interior spaces.
Guests enter El Fant into a central bar area
Yatofu also closely collaborated with Helsinki-based carpentry workshop Puutamo, led by young female carpenter Eveliina Ylöne, to create solid pine furniture.
Yatofu purposefully worked with young and local craftspeople on the project, allowing them "to inject the space with fresh perspe...